Tears of an Angel
by Amerachan
Summary: There's something about Riza that she doesn't want Roy to see. Fluffagey, light romance, nothing big. RoyxRiza


Tears of an Angel

She let go of a deep sigh as she sat in the office, filling out paperwork that the Colonel should have done days ago. She had become quite skilled at forging his signature, which wasn't all that hard, considering it wasn't more than a giant scribbled 'R' and 'M.' There were a few letters after these behemoth scrawls, but nothing that a little delicate penmanship couldn't mimic. Yet, she tired of doing most of his work for him, and one day, she vowed, she would shoot him until he promised to do it all himself.

Yet, at the same time, she could not bring herself to shoot him, and she knew that no matter how many times she vowed it to herself, she would always continue to do his work if need be, and never complain about it. She just couldn't help it; he brought about a softness in her that she hated, yet could not resist, to show.

* * *

It was summertime now, and the sun shone hot each day, giving a watery appearance to things in the distance, making everything seem like a mirage. Clouds were scarce that day, and as Riza Hawkeye walked down the street in her uniform on her way to work under that scalding sun and its heat, she wished desperately that she had a car. As luck would have it, one pulled beside her, and from it came the voice of a man asking if she needed a ride. For a moment, she ignored it, thinking that it was just another pervert trying to take advantage of her, and she kept walking. But then the person got out of the car and next thing she knew, Roy Mustang had her by the shoulders. She blinked in confusion before speaking.

"Yes, Colonel? What do you want?" she asked after a moment.

"I asked you if you wanted a ride, Riza. This heat could kill you if you keep walking around in your uniform," Roy said with concern.

"Yes, alright," she replied after a moment of hesitation.

The ride in the car was a lot better than she thought it would be. Roy drove very well, and the air conditioning kept it cool inside so that the heat outside became surreal, as though it really didn't exist, and the people suffered from an imaginary scourge. For a long while, Riza stared out the window of the car, watching the people walk about in the summer sun. then it occurred that, when asking her for a ride, the Colonel had addressed her by her first name instead of her rank. This realization drew her attention to the man, who looked out the windshield with stern concentration.

"Colonel..." she began as soon as words found her. "You addressed me by name earlier, didn't you?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Why?" she asked after a long hesitation.

"Well, we're not at work yet. Remember, that without our uniforms, in this world outside headquarters, we are just Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. Nothing more. Military ranks shouldn't be included in daily life, and that includes a ride to work," Roy said with a smile.

His answer brought a smile to her own face and she gazed at him tenderly for a long moment before realizing what she was doing and looked away, embarrassed. She then stared out the windshield and watched the world go by some more.

After five or so minutes of driving down the road, Roy stopped at a stoplight and turned to her, a sly smile on his face.

"Riza," he said carefully. "How would you like to come to my summer home for next week? We all have a week off, so...I was wondering if you might like to come."

At the invitation, her eyes widened and she felt colour rise into her face, and looked away from him. Her and Roy? In a summer house? Alone? But then––

"Of course, if everyone else agrees, it'll be you, me. Fuery, Breda, Havoc, Armstrong, Falman, and Maes and his family. Maes already told me he's coming," Roy said with a chuckle.

Riza nodded, the colour fading slowly from her cheeks, but she was a embarrassed. How could she think such things? She shook her head a little and sighed. Her imagination could be so terrible sometimes. It was then that the screeching of brakes was heard, and she was jolted forward into the seatbelt and then back again. For a moment, she sat there, dazed, and then groaned as a sharp pain invaded her shoulder and ran down to the middle of her back. Next thing she knew, Roy's face was in front of her own, his face drawn into a look of deep concern.

"Are you alright?" he demanded, placing a hand on her pained shoulder.

"Yes," she said, grimacing at the touch. "What happened? Are you ok?"

"A car pulled out in front of us. We almost hit it, but I stopped in time. I'm fine but...your shoulder," he said quietly, eyes narrowing. "Is it alright?"

"Yes, it's ok. We have to get to the office, Roy," she said with a forced smile.

He regarded her for a long moment before sitting back in his seat and driving onward. Within a few more minutes, the were at the Central Headquarters building. During the remainder of the time that they were in the car, Riza had kept a hold on her shoulder, grimacing now and again when another wave of pain washed over her. She also noticed that Roy kept glancing at her every now and again, a look of worry painted on his usually placid features.

The work day carried on as normal as it possibly could have, being in Roy's company. He refused to look at his paperwork until minutes before it was due, and everyone was generally lazing about for the entire day. Riza read a book for a large portion of the time, touching her shoulder gingerly at intervals. She was not aware of it until Breda pointed it out to her, and asked if she was alright. She assured him that she was, and it was merely because of the near-accident from earlier in the day. Roy's eyes almost never left her.

* * *

Sooner than she realized, Riza was standing in front of a gorgeous beach in the hot summer sun. She was wearing a light blue T-shirt and dark slacks, her hair let down for a change. Hayate stood obediently beside her, watching as Elycia ran gleefully at the water's edge, small waves teasing her little feet. A small smile spread on Riza's lips as she watched the rest of Hughes family joined in the fun, chasing the little girl about the shore. They were soon joined by Jean Havoc, who wore nothing but a pair of green swimshorts, and Roy, dressed in a Hawaiian button up shirt and khaki shorts. When she remained a good ten feet away from the action, Roy stepped away from the party and walked to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She winced slightly, as the pain from before came back, racing over her nerves like frightened mice. He noticed and a look of concern drew itself upon his young features.

"It still hurts?" he inquired, trying to hide his anxiety.

"A little, yes," she remarked lightly.

"Why don't you come join us?" he asked.

"I don't want to get my pants and shirt wet," she replied.

"Then change into something. You did bring a swimsuit, did you not?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then why don't you go change? I'd rather you not have to stand here all by yourself."

She hesitated for a moment before looking down at Hayate, as though begging him to do something that would force all her attention to the pup. He did not provide such salvation; he looked up at his master and panted, wagging his tail.

"Oh, I get it," Roy said slyly. "I'll bet you're one of those girls who are really self-conscious about how they look and therefore don't like to show much skin, right?"

"Yes, that's it," she said with a nervous laugh.

By the time mid-afternoon came, it was extremely hot, and everyone opted to go inside and play pool. The house was huge. There was a great foyer upon entering, and elegant white staircases led to the second floor bedrooms. Each room had their own bathroom and shower, and a queen-size bed. The kitchen was large enough to mimic that of a fancy restaurant, and the dining room seated at least thirty. To Riza, the home seemed more like a mansion than a summer home. It was Havoc who brought up the question on everyone's mind.

"So, Colonel," he asked as he watched Hughes skillfully shoot a ball into a corner pocket. "How is it that you came to own such an awesome place, and then have that little place in Central? You could just live here."

"It belonged to my father," Roy said dully. "He bought it when I was little, and when he passed on, he gave it to me. If I lived here instead of in Central, I'd have to waste a lot of gas driving to work. It's just too far away."

Without her really noticing, it was Riza's turn, and she shot a pall into one of the side pockets with ease, which earned her applause from the rest of the group. However, she had used her arm with the hurt shoulder to shoot the ball, and it didn't waste a minute to respond with a strong wave of pain. She grasped it tightly and groaned.

"Riza, are you alright?" Roy asked, taking a step towards her.

"P-please excuse me," she said as she raced out of the room, Hayate at her heels.

When she had run from the pool room, she darted up the stairs and into her bedroom. Hayate made it into the room just before she did, which was a good thing, since she shut the door directly after her own entrance.

After being safely secured in her room, she let out a small whimper of pain and fell onto the bed, Hayate barking and jumping up with her, touching her cheek wit his cold, wet nose. When the pain subsided a little, she smiled at the pup and slowly reached up to pet him. It was not long, however, before there was a frenzied knocking on her door.

"Riza!" came Roy's panicked voice from behind the wooden door.

"Y-yes?" she asked weakly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, opening the door a little.

"Yes. You can come in," she replied, sitting up.

When Roy had entered the room and shut the door behind him, Riza saw a person very unfamiliar to her. Sure, it was the Roy Mustang she had known for years, but his face was contorted so much in worry, and she had never seen such a look upon his face before. She frowned a little bit as she sat up straighter, and watched as Roy approached her.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"I should be asking you that," Roy said, taking swift steps to her, and before she knew it, he was standing directly in front of her, looking down at her with that look that was so unlike him.

A long silence followed, and it was as if both of them were studying each other's faces.

"You mean my shoulder," Riza inserted quietly.

"Yes."

"I'm ok, really I a–"

"No you're not," Roy interrupted, placing a hand on her good shoulder. "And I should have known that when you hurt it in the car. Now, let me take a look at it."

"No, really it's ok. Probably just bruised," she said nervously, trying to back away. His grip on her was firm, preventing her escape.

"No, it's not. Let me see. Take off your shirt so I can make sure it's not broken or something."

She stared at him for a long moment, only to find that his serious gaze did not falter from her. At long last, she squirmed from his grasp and moved away from him.

"R-Riza," he stuttered. "I'm not going to do anything, I promise. I'm just worried about you."

"But I don't want you to see!" she cried, tears coming from her eyes now.

"See what?" he asked, his expression falling to that of curiosity.

She shook her head, afraid and backed away a little more.

"Please, just let me make sure you're alright," he said, taking another step. She followed with a step of her own, but backwards.

Unable to think of a way to rationalize with her, he darted across the room and, before she could get away, embraced her, taking care with her injured shoulder. She cried out again, but in frustration as she struggled to get away.

"Please," he said calmly, his eyes watching her every movement with concern. "Please just let me make sure I didn't hurt you when I stopped the car."

After a while, she tired herself out and fell almost limply into his chest, tears still coming from her eyes.

"I don't want you to see," she mumbled repeatedly. "I don't want you to see. I don't want you to see."

Slowly, he lifted her shirt and helped her to get it off and then gazed over her to where the phantom injury was. Instead of finding a bruise, he found a series of circular scars on her back, and when he let out a small gasp, she cried harder.

"Where did you get these scars?" he asked at last.

She was silent for a long moment, the only sounds coming from her were the sobs that she could not keep inside. Finally, she drew in a deep breath and spoke quietly.

"I was shot...in Ishbal...a long time ago. The bullets didn't hit anything important, and they got the bullets out, but they said that the skin would be tender forever. When I hit the seat in the car, it put a lot of stress on them..."

"But why didn't you just tell me, instead of making me worry?" Roy asked quietly, stroking her hair.

"I didn't want you to know..." she mumbled quietly.

"But why?"

"I thought you would think that I...that I wasn't beautiful if you knew," she said, turning her tear streaked face to look at him.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"Beautiful women aren't supposed to have scars," she explained.

His eyes narrowed and he drew her closer to him. A small smile spread onto his lips and he caressed her cheek.

"They just prove that you've lived," he said quietly. "And _that's_ what makes you beautiful."

Before she could argue, he had locked his lips to hers in a strong and passionate kiss. She was surprised, but soon returned the kiss, pressing her lips tightly to his, the tears slowly dying away. After a while, Roy pulled away and smiled at her again.

"You shouldn't cry anymore, Riza," he remarked quietly.

"Why?" she asked.

"No one likes to see an angel weep. It makes other people want to cry too," Roy said as a single tear fell down his cheek.

* * *

Ok, So this story was sorta supposed to be a sequel to Cries of the Broken, but it didn't turn out that way. It's kinda it's own thing now...I actually got the beautiful women not having scars thing from a doujinshi a friend of mine told me about a year ago, and then we included it in a Miroku/Sango rpg. And most recently in a different rpg. I thought it was cute and decided it fit perfectly in this story. So yeah. I hope you enjoyed this story. Please let me know what you think! Until next time, ja ne!


End file.
